Business as Usual For Revamped International Aero Engines Partnership

International Aero Engines (IAE) announced new business and confirmed changes to its management structure on Monday at the Farnborough Airshow, following the departure of Rolls-Royce from the consortium.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) subsidiary ICBC Financial Leasing has chosen IAEV2500 engines valued at $90 million for five additional Airbus A320s it has ordered for delivery during 2013-15. Jetstar Airways will use V2500 power for 32 more A320s ordered for the Qantas subsidiary’s fleet in August 2011. V2500s equip all 74 JetStar A320s and A321s. New engine deliveries are scheduled to begin next year under an IAE V-Services fleet-hour agreement.

A $250 million maintenance agreement negotiated earlier this year covers V2500s operated by Monarch Airlines on its 16 A321 aircraft. Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris and IAE have amended their V-Services agreement to cover 26 incremental V2500s in a $400 million deal.

Under the revised ownership of IAE, Pratt & Whitney has increased its share to 61 percent, and Germany’s MTU now has a larger 16-percent proportion, with Japanese Aero Engine retaining its 23-percent holding. “As we complete the recent restructuring, we are very well aligned. Our partners have never been more steadfast, and Rolls-Royce continues to be a strategic supplier with a commitment to continue to build 50 percent of our engines,” said president John Beatty, who has returned to office in place of Ian Aitken, who is returning to Rolls-Royce. Beatty was president of IAE from 2007 to 2009

The newly announced business and restructured management come as IAE is approaching its highest production rates. “We are building more engines than ever–nearly two a day–while substantially expanding our service offerings,” said Beatty.

IAE has produced more than 5,000 engines and has another 2,000 in backlog, with the V2500 set to power more than 80 percent of outstanding A321 orders. Some 60 percent of the current fleet, which has an average age of six years, is managed under V-Services agreements.